Joseph Haydn:
The Ten Commandments
 
 
 

Program Notes by Martin Pearlman

Haydn's rarely performed Ten Commandments is a collection of ten canons for a cappella voices, which set the texts of the biblical commandments.  During his time in London in the early 1790's, Haydn presented these canons as a present to the Saxon minister in London, Herr Graf Brühl.  They are simple, occasional works, but their very lightness often masks complex, learned contrapuntal techniques.  The first canon, for example, was written in the form of a puzzle.  In the solution that Haydn wrote out, we see that not only do the various voices imitate each other, but that the canon can be sung forward, backward, right-side-up, or upside-down.

Haydn scholar H. C. Robbins Landon has remarked on Haydn's "sunny attitude toward religion" in some of these canons.  The sixth canon treats adultery with a light touch and lilting rhythm, and the ninth canon ("Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife") begins with a humorous, slow staccato scale.  An old tradition says that Haydn stole the tune for the seventh canon ("Thou shalt not steal"), but no original version has ever been found.  Some of the canons, however, are more austere, and the overall effect is one of quiet seriousness, music that is both moving and light. 

Haydn, The Ten Commandments

 

  1. Du sollst an einen Gott glauben.

  2. Du sollst den Namen Gottes nicht eitel nennen.

  3. Du sollst Sonn- und Feiertag heiligen.

  4. Du sollst Vater und Mutter verehren, auf dass du lang lebst und dir wohlgeh auf Erden.

  5. Du sollst nicht töten.

  6. Du sollst nicht Unkeuschheit treiben.

  7. Du sollst nicht stehlen.

  8. Du sollst kein falsch Zeugnis geben.

  9. Du sollst nicht begehren deines Nächsten Weib.

  10. Du sollst nicht begehren deines Nächsten Gut.

  1. Thou shalt believe in one God.

  2. Thou shalt not utter the name of God in vain.

  3. Thou shalt keep the Sabbath holy.

  4. Thou shalt honor thy father and mother, so that you shall live a long and happy life.

  5. Thou shalt not murder.

  6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

  7. Thou shalt not steal.

  8. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

  9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.

  10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's possessions.

 

Boston Baroque Performances

The Ten Commandments

April 24, 1998
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor